Towards Effective Place Brand Management: Branding European Cities and Regions

Citation

Muscat, B. (2013), "Towards Effective Place Brand Management: Branding European Cities and Regions", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 191-192. https://doi.org/10.1108/10610421311321040

Gregory Ashworth and Mihalis Kavaratzis' book Towards Effective Place Brand Management – Branding European Cities and Regions (2010) consists of 14 chapters which document the research and empirical case studies/examples of 26 authors. With this book, the editors have published a multi‐faceted publication on place‐ branding and marketing, with contributors from both academic and professional backgrounds. Authors are from diverse disciplinary backgrounds including Human Resources Management and Organisational Studies (Professor Nelarine Cornelius, UK), Urban Theory (Professor Ole B. Jensen, Denmark), Critical Tourism Studies (Professor Annette Pritchard, UK) and Urban Planning and Consulting Areas (Kalanides, Germany).

Similar to the background of the authors, the book seeks to attract both an academic and practitioner audience. The editors indicate that the variety of themes in the subject of place‐branding should appeal to not only academics but also to consultants and tourism operators – especially if they have an interest in European examples of place‐branding. From my point of view, the book made for valuable reading; the variety of themes and approaches certainly inspires me (as an academic, with a professional background in the tourism industry) to investigate various areas and methods, and even conduct further research, in the area of brand‐management and place‐marketing.

The book commences with an introduction to the literature and theory on place‐branding with “Place branding: where do we stand” (Chapter 1) and “Place branding theory: a cross‐domain literature review” (Chapter 2). These initial chapters offer informative reading. They cover the current state of place‐branding and discuss the relationship between place‐branding and corporate‐branding, as well as the role of communities within place‐branding strategies.

While it is often the case that theoretical introductions to topics in edited collections can be long and overly‐comprehensive, this book is an exception. Instead, the reader is offered a brief and concise overview that captures attention and motivates the reader to continue reading. Following the presentation of basic theoretical concepts, several case studies are examined. These represent a myriad of locations in Europe, including capital cities such as Madrid and Berlin, and regions such as Catalonia, Wales, Nea Ionia (Greece) and Pafos (Cyprus). The analysis of place‐branding in these chapters concentrates on dimensions of culture, geography and economics, such as “Mind the gap: reputation, identity and regeneration in post‐industrial cities” by Trueman, Cornelius, Baig and Liddle, and “Managing otherness: the political economy of place images in the case of Tuscany” by Bellini, Loffredo and Pasquiellini. The latter case study, set in Tuscany, explores the problems that arise from places with a strong pre‐existing image, about which tourists (and other stakeholders) hold strongly stereotyped views. This study invites the reader to reflect on particular challenges in place‐branding that can accommodate various target groups. Tuscany place branding experts need to integrate diverse sub‐brands, including sub‐areas and diverse social groups, and consider the changes over time involving incorporating new emerging industries.

One of the Chapters I especially enjoyed was Chapter 7: “Place‐making or place branding? Case Studies of Catalonia and Wales”, by Huertas, Pritchard and Morgan. It is a comparative study of two regional destinations and explores place branding from a tourism destination management perspective. This chapter offers interest from both a conceptual and methodological perspective. The authors analyse visual data from destination websites through an analytical framework that combines content analysis and critical discourse analysis methodologies. The chapter aims to evaluate the relationship between the two destination brands – Catalonia and Wales – with the corresponding umbrella brands (Spain and UK), and the city brands (Barcelona and Cardiff). Their findings display the “considerable confusion between the destination brands and the brands of the tourism promotion institutions” (p. 133). This chapter highlights once more the complexity that lies in the creation of a destination brand, such as the dilemma of how to effectively attract and integrate various target audiences, strategies and dimensions.

The book continues with several case studies that highlight the political, cultural and jurisdictive aspects of place branding. Chapter 11, “Place satisfaction of city residents: findings and implications for city branding” by Insch and Florek, focuses on the importance of integrating place residence into place branding approaches. At the outset, the book identified the need to examine the role of residents in place branding, and this chapter does just this. In addition to visitors and investors, residents form an integral part of a comprehensive approach to recognising the stakeholders involved in successful place branding. In addressing the issue of residents in place‐branding, this chapter usefully contributes to our knowledge of this little explored area.

My overall verdict on the book is that it will offer stimulating literature for scholars and practitioners alike. The book will be of particular relevance to those readers who are seeking a greater understanding of the complexity of the “wide‐ranging strategic choice that includes the place's vision, the involvement and motivation of all the place's internal and external customers and users and its economic, social and cultural consequences” (p. 238).

Practitioners will appreciate the concise conceptual discussion that precedes the more relevant case study literature in which they will be most interested. Most of the case studies provide hands‐on examples of operationalising place marketing and place branding, and will serve well as triggers for discussion in the field.

For academic researchers, the book provides a variety of vantage points to come at further research on the topic. An aspect of further significance is the “the increasing number of publications, special issues and international conferences on place branding” (p. 235). An outstanding conceptual question is that of a precise definition of “place branding” and “place marketing” respectively. The editors acknowledge that this is an area which requires further work in the field, as do the areas of social and spatial services in place branding.

Hence, I consider the book very worthwhile reading. It is an excellent starting point for those looking for further research on European place‐branding. During the period in which the chapters of this book were compiled, it was a more prosperous economic environment in Europe. An interesting exercise now would be to compare these case studies with ones from the recent crisis in Europe. This changed – and changing – economic environment will have significant implications and lessons for place‐branding research and practice in European cities and regions.